The Chautauqua Lake Property Owners Association (CLPOA) had a
great turnout at “Wetlands” Public Meeting #11 on July 5, 2025. We
talked about the new wetlands regulations and the CLPOA and others’
litigation against New York State (State) and the Department
of Environmental Conservation (DEC). But, at the same time…
Property owners, businesses, and Lake users in the newly DEC-designated
in-Lake wetlands and in onshore wetlands-restricted areas are suffering
once again. It may be worst in Burtis Bay, reminiscent of the 2018 weed
and algae-driven fish kill, but the weeds,
algae, and stench are extending into the South and North Basin as well
with more to come. A week ago on July 7, tens of thousands or more
across western New York saw a weed and algae choked Chautauqua Lake
(Lake) characterized as an
“Absolute Nightmare”. That was the headline on the first of
several nightly news segments on WIVB Channel 4 (text attached). This is
an embarrassment for all of us and unnecessary.
The wetlands issue we’ve talked about for almost two years, with the
first of thirteen public meetings begun in April 2024, is now upon us
with a very aggressive DEC Region 9 implementation. In just five months
the DEC Region 9 (Buffalo) has designated ~3000
acres in the Lake as wetlands with 100 feet up on to private property
regulated as well. As anticipated, these DEC actions have made the
annual weed management challenge much more difficult in 2025. Don’t
believe it when you hear some or our State and County
elected representatives defend the DEC saying there was no negative
impact on weed management due to the new wetlands regulations. They need
to look closer, that is just not the case.
Our State Senator and County Executive blame Lake organizations’
infighting and performance failures for problems with the Lake. But they
are only symptoms of the root problem and misleading. The real problem
is decades of ineffective local Lake management
made worse by decades of inattention and now, extreme regulatory
overreach by our State and its DEC. The DEC’s mission is to conserve,
improve, and protect our Lake not arbitrarily designate our Lake and its
surroundings a swamp to hide their inattention.
No One is Managing Chautauqua Lake
The Chautauqua Lake and Watershed Management Alliance (Alliance), a
County agency pretending to be a 501c3 non-profit, operates in secret
with no direct input from taxpayers, while it doles out millions in
foundation, State, and County funding to Alliance Lake
and watershed maintenance organization members. By its own admission,
the Alliance has no authority to manage the Lake and has failed to
improve conditions in their 12 years of operation and after spending
millions of dollars.
The latest Alliance monthly “article” (really an OpEd) in the Post Journal titled
“Summer in Swing: Lake Events Continue After July 4 Holiday” made
the Alliance sound more like the Chautauqua County Tourism Bureau than
an organization which controls Lake maintenance and its funding. Were
they unaware of the dire conditions being experienced
on the Lake over the 4th of July Weekend? The Alliance OpEd was
published the morning of Monday, July 7.
“Absolute Nightmare: Chautauqua Lake homeowners voice concerns over weeds” (text
attached) was aired that same day on WVIB Channel 4 in the evening.
Several follow-on televised segments aired throughout the week.
There Is No Chautauqua Lake Management Plan
The Alliance funded the development of the “Long-Term Management Plan for Submerged Aquatic Vegetation at Chautauqua Lake” by
North Carolina State University (NCSU), a leader in lake management, in
early 2023. The resulting 5-Year Plan was completed
in June 2024. It utilizes an adaptive management approach, annual
upgrade based on quantitative results, and optimized and coordinated use
of all effective weed management methods including harvesting,
herbicides, herbivores, etc. But, to our astonishment,
the Alliance refused to adopt this Plan, the first real Plan for our
Lake, changed its name to “Strategy”, and put it on the shelf with 50-60
other Chautauqua Lake “studies”. Then they changed the title of the
“Lake Manager” they planned to hire to “Lake
Consultant” fearing challenge to their lack of authority. It’s an
expensive and distracting game of “smoke and mirrors”. No wonder there’s
no improvement.
What Is The Solution?
The solution, a “Centralized Lake Authority” is simple in concept
but requires County and municipality leadership to implement. Such an
Authority was attempted by municipality leaders in 2004 and reintroduced
by County Executive Borrello in 2019. The
2004 attempt failed when the Town of Chautauqua opted out. (Note: The
Town of Chautauqua was also the only one of nine lakeside municipalities
which failed to publicly denounce the new wetlands regulations in
2024). The 2019 effort failed when County Executive
Wendel was appointed to take over from County Executive Borrello.
As a distributor of County and State taxpayer funds, the “Authority”, a
completely new organization, would consist of only Town Supervisors,
Village Mayors, and County Legislators with districts on Chautauqua
Lake. As a formal government entity, it would have
the responsibility and authority to actually manage the Lake and be
subject to the Open Meeting Law and Freedom of Information Act document
requests. No more secrecy and exclusion of taxpayers and the public.
The Alliance has proven several times that it cannot reform itself. And
without direct taxpayer representation and with no Lake management
authority, neither should it try. The County, with elected County and
municipality officials and the essential addition
of a professional organization design consultant, must take on the task
now; to resolve the embarrassing “Absolute Nightmare” we’ve been living with and now publicized to all of western New York.
What Can You Do?
It is critical that lakeside and near-Lake taxpayers, year-round and
seasonal, contact your County and municipality government officials
and tell them you want a Centralized Lake Authority of
lakeside municipality and County taxpayer-elected officials as described
above. Send an email so there’s a written record of your request and
their response.
See the attached listing of these representatives for contact information.
Thank you for your interest and ongoing support.
Chautauqua Lake Property Owners Association, Inc. (CLPOA)
chqlpoa@gmail.com
www.chqlpoa.org
Jim Wehrfritz, President (832.319.8112)
Jeff Moore, Vice President
Dan Smith, Secretary/Treasurer
Kathy O’Brien and Tammy Schack, Directors
Chautauqua Lake Area Elected Representatives
New York State
Governor
Honorable Kathy Hochul
Governor of New York State
📅 Next Election: November 2026
NYS State Capitol Building
Albany, NY 12224
State Senator – District 57
George Borrello
📧 borrello@nysenate.gov
📅 Next Election: November 2026
State Assemblyman – District 150
Andrew Molitor
📧 friendsofandrewmolitor@gmail.com
📅 Next Election: November 2026
Chautauqua County
County Executive
P. J. Wendel
📧 wendelp@chqgov.com
📅 Next Election: November 2025
County Legislature Chairman
Pierre Chagnon
📧 ChagnonP@chqgov.com
📅 Next Election: November 2025
District #18 Legislator
Marty Proctor
📧 Marty.Proctor@chqgov.com
Mayville West / Chautauqua (Light Purple on Map)
📅 Next Election: November 2025
District #15 Legislator
Lisa Vanstrom
📧 Lisa.Vanstrom@chqgov.com
Celoron / Ellicott (Light Blue on Map)
📅 Next Election: November 2025
District #8 Legislator
Pierre Chagnon
📧 ChagnonP@chqgov.com
North Harmony / Ellery (Green on Map)
📅 Next Election: November 2025
District #7 Legislator
John Penhollow
📧 John.Penhollow@chqgov.com
Mayville East (Pink on Map)
📅 Next Election: November 2025
District #10 Legislator
Jamie Gustafson
📧 jamie.gustafson@chqgov.com
Busti / Lakewood (Light Green / Yellow on Map)
📅 Next Election: November 2025
Lakeside Towns
Town of Busti
Supervisor: Jesse Robbins
📧 jrobbins@townofbusti.com
📅 Next Election: November 2027
Town of Chautauqua
Supervisor: Don Emhardt
📧 supervisor@townofchautauqua.com
📅 Next Election: November 2027
Town of Ellery
Supervisor: Larry Anderson
📧 ellerysupervisor@gmail.com
📅 Next Election: November 2025
Town of North Harmony
Supervisor: Rob Yates
📧 townsupervisor@townofnorthharmony.com
📅 Next Election: November 2027
Town of Ellicott
Supervisor: Janet Bowman
📧 supervisor@townofellicott.com
📅 Next Election: November 2027
Lakeside Villages
Village of Celoron
Mayor: Scott Schrecengost
📧 celoron@netsync
📅 Next Election: November 2025
Village of Lakewood
Mayor: Randy Holcombe
📧 holcomb14750@gmail.com
📅 Next Election: November 2027
Village of Bemus Point
Mayor: Jeff Molnar
📧 mayor@bemuspointny.org
📅 Next Election: November 2025
Village of Mayville
Mayor: Ric Syper
📧 mayvillemayor@netsync.net
📅 Next Election: November 2026
For More Information On Chautauqua Lake & County Real Estate and Living Visit: chautauqualakehomes.com
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